Chapter 225
Chapter 225
"It's been a long time since I've fought a battle against the heathens, so it's refreshing."
She wiped her forehead as she spoke, looking very cheerful.
"How is Sister Elena doing?"
She looked worried at the sight of Elena, who was huffing and puffing behind me, about to die.
"No! I think I'm going to die, I can't even hit it enough to do any damage, isn't this too hard?"
Most of the monsters in this dungeon were elemental monsters called fire lizards.
Their bodies are made of magic, so the damage from attacks of the same element or attacks that are incompatible is halved.
An elementalist, even one who manipulates the wind, was an incompatible match for the fire lizards.
"If you want to attack properly, it's best to attack with aura or magic, butyour attacks are from the elementals, so if they're incompatible, you'll have a hard time."
It was also the biggest reason not to take her.
"But even with that, Eugene's attacks go in just fine, and he just shoots with ease!"
"Because my guns shoot aura or mana, not bullets, and you can't use them like I can."
"Yes, and comfortable is the wrong word. Sister."
Michaela nods at my words.
"Any gun that uses Aura as projectiles to fire it is certainly no ordinary gun, and given its destructive power and rate of fire, I'm sure Sister Elena wouldn't be able to pull the trigger for ten seconds."
"Even Sister is too much."
"What can we do about it? It's true, Corleone Jr. is a monster."
A monster.
I can't refute that.
"Do you mind if I pull that once?"
"This?"
I'm a little curious to see what happens when someone else uses it, since I'm the only one who's used it so far.
"Try it."
"Then excuse me."
She looks amused at this and takes the Tommy I hand her.
"That's kind of heavy."
"It's supposed to be."
She slowly points it in a deserted direction.
"Uh, is this how it shoots?"
The buttstock rested against her cheekbone, a perfect position to break her face.
"The buttstock is on your shoulder, wherever you're most comfortable."
"Uh like this?"
"Okay. Just give it a good pull. You're not hitting anything."
"Okay. Then I'll shoot."
Just as her finger moved.
! / ! / ! / ! / ! / ! / ! / ! / ! / ! / ! / ! / ! / ! / ! / ! / ! / ! / ! / !
Countless bullets began to shoot forward.
It was a sound worthy of the tinnitus Chicago typewriter.
About five seconds passed like that.
"Ughhh."
I took the Tommy from her as she tried to recover.
"What do you think?"
"How the hell can you use this thing like a yard broom?"
Powerful family bloodline, immense talent and with my knowledge of the game, anybody could do it, buthere, I'd have to say.
"It's all about luck."
After all, life is luck.
"I think that's enough small talk, I just heard a sound and I think a second wave is coming up."
She turns around and pumps her fist in the air, having been watching us with amusement all this time.
For some reason, the monsters were running towards us from the direction of the peak.
"Sister, don't you think something is wrong?"
"What do you mean?"
"That the difficulty of the dungeon seems to be much lower than we know. I don't see any strong monsters like mid-level spirits, and it seems strange that monsters are running out of the boss room like that."
I wonder if it makes sense for monsters to run like they're being chased by something when we're heading to the boss room.
"Well, Corleone Junior has a point, it doesn't look like they're targeting us and now that I look at it, they're just running in all directions."
True to her word, the monsters are spreading out in all directions, so they're not converging on us.
"Elena. Can you move?"
"Oh, yes, I'm fine."
"I and Sister will clear a path for you, so follow slowly behind. Use your elemental magic to protect yourself as much as possible."
"Yes!"
Anyone else would have said she'd fight alongside for pride's sake, but Elena nodded, realistically considering what stamina and magic she had left, and fell in close behind us.
"I'll lead the way!"
And so it began.
Michaelas kick connects with the head of a fire lizard that was running without regard for what was in front of it.
Kwajik!
I wondered if it was possible for a human to kick a monster and make such a sound.
She then threw her fist at the second lizard, and the lizard's body, unable to withstand the impact, exploded and oxidized in midair.
All the while, she continued to walk without blinking an eye.
After all, this is what it takes to be called a Knight.
I, too, continue to advance, swinging my Tommy at the creatures clinging to me.
"Are you sure we can enter the boss room right away?"
"Yes. Determine the type of boss as you enter. And then we'll decide on the location."
"Got it."
Just like that, I reached the top of the peak and saw the landscape below.
It was a landscape we had never seen before.
"Corleone Jr. Is that."
"Yes, I see it too."
A giant creature, hunkered down in one spot, munching on something.
Whatever it was made of, its back glinted in the light of the surrounding flames, as if it were a mass of iron.
"What the is that?"
She looked down, her eyes widening at the unfamiliar creature.
It was as big as a full-grown wolf, with a fire-devouring appetite, and a body of iron that reminded me of a creature I knew.
"Starfish."
"Starfish?"
Michaela shook her head as if she'd never heard the name before, neither had Elena.
In the West, it would be hard to find even simple information about the creature, let alone legends.
In fact, very few people outside of Korea would even know about it.
"It's a legendary monster that exists in the East. It's said that if you bring fire to it, it dies, it eats iron, and so on, but in this case, it's a monster that swallows fire, and the mythology is that the more it eats, the stronger it gets."
I can actually see red flames bubbling up through the cracks in the creature's upper.
"If it eats fire and is made of iron, then does it have any weaknesses that Corleone Jr. knows of?"
"Of course there are."
The weakness of all living things.
"Strong firepower."
"?"
"Overwhelming firepower. In fact, if it were me and Sister, we'd take it out in no time."
Fortunately, he doesn't look that strong right now.
There's no telling how much stronger he'll get later, so it's best to deal with him here and now.
"I'll get right on it, Sister."
As I say that, I tuck Tommy in and reach for my shotgun.
-flinch.
The creature shortened its body and crouched low while eyeing us warily.
-Grrrr.
"Looks like he's got a good sense, I'll go ahead and tie him up."
Just as Michaela was about to act,
"Now, wait a minute."
She suddenly steps out from behind, blocking our path.
"Sister?"
"What?"
"ThatWait, can't we have a conversation first before we grab that kid?"
"Aconversation?"
Talking to a starfish, what kind of a novelty is that?
"Sister. You must calm down. They are minions of the heathen. Creatures that I doubt will even hear us."
Luckily, Michaela was quick to explain what I was about to say, but Elena just shook her head.
"WellI can't say it very well, butI can feel something!"
"You mean a feeling?"
"Yeah. It's like. Tinkerbell! It's kind of like the feeling I had before I made a contract with Tinkerbell, like, if I talked to her, it would work!"
"You mean like inner intimacy?"
I'm not sure where the inner intimacy comes in, but this is kind of interesting.
Her words seemed to tell me something.
If I'm right.
"Really? Then go."
"Corleone Jr.?"
"But I and Sister will watch you from behind, and if anything happens, we'll act right away, okay?"
"Yes! I'm sure I'll be fine."
Despite her confident answer, Michaela looked at me uneasily.
"Isn't it too dangerous?"
"It's okay, my Elementalist's instincts work better than you think in times like this."
And with that, we slowly made our way toward the wolf devouring the flames.
It was like looking at a giant wolf, with fur the color of steel, flames peeking through the gaps, and blue eyes.
-It smells friendly.
Just then, a voice came from the direction of the creature.
"Corleone Junior? Is this."
"As expected, he's a spirit."
"What? You mean a spirit?"
"Well, it's pretty common for beings to appear as spirits in folklore, and as far as I know, those whose attributes cannot be defined like that are called fair spirits.
And this one is a new, undiscovered type of spirit.
Just as new hidden achievements had appeared after the possession, a new monster had appeared.
"It's okay. May I approach?"
-You don't look like you're going to attack me, that's okay.
Elena slowly approaches the creature and places her hand on top of its head.
"That looks so cold, but it's warm."
He rubs his head against Elena's hand, as if he's enjoying her touch, and sits back down.
"What's your name?
-Wadu. I'm Wadu.
"Wadu, what are you doing here?"
-I don't know. I was suddenly born here. The fire lizards started attacking me andI swallowed them all.
"How long?"
-A very long time.
That's why the seeds in this dungeon were completely dried up.
Apparently, the more intelligent ones attacked him first, and he swallowed them all.
That's unusual. No matter how I look at it, it's an Eastern-based creature, but in a place like this.
Is this some kind of anomaly?'
While I was organizing my thoughts, Elena continued to talk to the spirit.
"Wadu, would you like to go outside with us?"
-Outside? Impossible. My name is bound to this land.
"Then I'll give you a new name."
-You give me a name?
"Yes. That's how my friend became friends with me."
Wow, I didn't realize that's how intimacy works.
Giving the spirit a name meant one thing: a pact between the elemental and the elementalist.
"I seem to be seeing quite a few unusual sights today."
"That's right. A contract with a spirit is something you cant usually see even if you pay money.
Are my spirits raised in the game doing well?
Red. Green. Choraengi. Yellowy. Even Black and White.
I miss you, kids.
-Of course, I want to get out. There is plenty to eat here, but nothing exists.
"Then come out with me, and may I name you?"
-Anything.
"Your name isPen! How about Pen?"
-Pen. My name is Pen.
At the same time, a pure white light begins to surround him and his form slowly shrinks.
Finally, I let out a small chuckle as I watched him return to his normal dog form.
"Man. Life is luck."
Apparently, she was the lucky one, not me.
* * *
The decryption room of the Ministry of Information, inside the Vatican.
"Have you finished decrypting the report that arrived from Michaela?"
"Yes. As expected. The key information was contained in the chant lyrics' that Michaela sent."
Saying that, the priest hands over a piece of paper.
On it were the keywords for yesterday's events.
[Abandoned cathedral. encounter. two wicked men. all the world. proclamation. mountain of fire. being. around. Find.]
"The first part is what you said. What's the second part?"
"It seems that Corleone Jr. is also looking for something in the Mountain of Fire.
With that, he flashed up a photo of a group of Medici's mafia members and their equipment.
"You got it right. Find out the details of these guys, post them in the catalog, and send believers to the village where the current Knight Commander Michaela is located. Use people who have no ability to avoid attracting Corleones attention. And lets investigate the surrounding area.
"Yes, Father, but what shall I send in reply?"
"Reply? .Something along the lines of, Send me information, not this. Oh, and let them know they've been credited."
"I see, but what about the one that arrived today?"
"I'll get to that as soon as I'm done with this interpretation. I see you're working overtime again today."
"I can't help it, our job is a sacrifice after all."
With that, the priest smirked and disappeared, leaving the priest, who was watching his back, stroking his chin and continuing to examine the contents.
"Hah, I thought to double report in case I got caught but that's one hell of an ability."
He shook his head, once again impressed by Michaela's abilities.
Though he's not sure that's what she intended.